Home & Style

5 Pro Decor Tips to Upgrade Your Basic Rental

The designer duo behind Residents Understood share their best advice.

For a renter, certain design trends and tips can seem woefully out of reach. How can you be expected to get excited about richly patterned wallpapers when your landlord won’t even let you paint? But just because you’re stuck in a standard-issue apartment doesn’t mean your place shouldn’t feel completely like you. We checked in with interior designers Kiera Kushlan and Jessica Centella of Residents Understood to get their expert advice on how to perk up a soulless space without making any irreparable changes. Ready to upgrade? See five ways to make it happen below.

1) Invest in lighting you love. Light fixtures in rentals are rarely anything better than blah, but most overheard light fixtures can easily be taken down and new ones installed in their place. (Just put the originals in storage and remember to put them back in when it’s time to move.)

Try: Tom Dixon’s glossy copper orb pendant lamp.

2) Swap out the ho-hum cabinet hardware in your kitchen and bathroom for something more personal and playful. It’s a quick fix, but it’ll help make the place feel more like your own. 

Try: Anthropologie’s pulls and knobs.

3) Remove all signs of plastic window treatments. “These are notorious for making a place feel uninviting and cold—removing or replacing these little devils is another way to instantly change the mood of an apartment,” the designers say. If the window treatments can’t be removed and stored, try covering them with fabric drapes.

Try: Nate Berkus for Target metallic window panels.

4) So you’re not allowed to paint. No worries—products such as removable wallpaper and decals are becoming more widely available. Adding a fun decal, such as polka dots, or whimsical wallpaper to your home is a guaranteed way to add flair to any lackluster room.

Try: Tempaper’s removable wallpapers or Land of Nod’s Lottie gold dot decals.

5) Got ugly floors? Cover them up! This goes for anything from seen-better-days hardwood to boring commercial-grade carpet. A good area rug goes a long way in personalizing and softening up your space.

Try: Serena & Lily’s pebble-print rug.

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